Keto Green Bean Casserole is the ultimate holiday side dish. This healthier low carb recipe features a rich mushroom cream sauce and a crunchy, cheesy topping.
When it comes to holiday feasts, the side dishes often play the starring role. The turkey is great, and the standing rib roast is divine, but everyone has their favorite sides that they look forward to all year long.
But side dishes can also be the hardest part to figure out when you embark on a keto diet. Many of them are incredibly starchy and full of excess carbohydrates.
Rest assured that you don’t need to forego all of your old favorites. Potatoes might off limits, but this Keto Green Bean Casserole is going to blow your old version out of the water!
It’s so good, you may decide to enjoy it all year long.
Why you need this recipe
I’ve never been a huge fan of the traditional, as it usually relies on canned green beans and gelatinous pre-made cream of mushroom soup. I much prefer my beans to be fresh and slightly crisp, and my mushrooms to be sautéed to perfection.
But this keto green bean casserole strikes all the right notes, with that amazing umami you can only get from homemade keto cream sauce. Plus a cheesy, crunchy topping made with crushed Parmesan crisps. So yummy and so much healthier.
Trust me, making your own mushroom sauce isn’t much more work than opening a can of soup. And it’s so worth i! Not only do you avoid all the junky ingredients but you also get incredible depth of flavor.
And this healthier green bean casserole has only 5g net carbs per serving!
Reader testimonials
Thanksgiving is next week, so I made this green bean casserole tonight for practice. WE LOVE IT! So much better than traditional canned soup version! Fresh bean, fresh mushrooms, and so much healthier! — Gail
This was absolutely amazing! I followed the directions exactly and the whole family raved about it. Will be making this for company. — Corrie
I made this for Easter supper today and all my family liked it better than the “regular” GBC. I used the quisinart to cut the mushrooms up smaller and didn’t have quite enough Mozzeralla so I added a small bit cheddar. It was SO good!! — Shelley
Ingredients you need
- Avocado oil: You can also use olive oil or coconut oil.
- Green beans: Use fresh green beans. They should be plump and crisp and easily trimmed by snapping the ends off.
- Mushrooms: I like to use small cremini or button mushrooms.
- Garlic: You can swap in 1 small shallot for the garlic, if you like. Both provide wonderful flavor.
- Dry white wine: This provides a unique acidity and depth of flavor that you don’t get in traditional green bean casserole. But you can easily substitute with chicken broth.
- Heavy whipping cream: Heavy cream helps thicken the sauce without the use of any flours or thickeners. Some of my readers have substituted this with coconut cream.
- Shredded cheese: This keto green bean casserole is delicious with mozzarella, cheddar, gruyere, or any cheese you prefer.
- Parmesan crisps: Using crushed Parmesan crisps gives a wonderful crunch to the topping, in place of the high carb fried onions. You can also use crushed pork rinds.
- Kitchen staples: Butter, salt, pepper.
Step-by-step directions
1. In a large skillet, heat the avocado oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the green beans and sauté until bright green, about 4 minutes. Spread the beans evenly in a medium-sized glass or ceramic baking dish.
2. Add the butter and melt. Add the mushrooms and cook in butter until they are nicely browned, to bring out the umami flavor. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more.
3. Add the wine to the skillet and let cook until reduced by about two thirds. Stir in the heavy whipping cream and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened, 4 or 5 minutes.
4. Pour the sauce over the beans and sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Bake at 350ºF for 20 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the crumbled parmesan crisps and bake another 5 minutes.
Expert tips
When making a keto sauce with heavy cream, you shouldn’t need any thickeners. Simply cook the cream down until it reduces and thickens on its own. Coconut cream may not thicken as well, so you can whisk in 1/4 tsp xanthan gum if you find the cream sauce very thin.
If you are prepping this recipe ahead, leave off the crumbled cheese crisps until you re-heat the casserole. They tend to soften as they sit. The same goes for crushed pork rinds, which can become very chewy as they soften.
Like any green bean recipe, this Keto Green Bean Casserole is best served soon after you bake it. However, you can prep it a day or two ahead and bake it when you need it. Any leftovers should be stored in the fridge and consumed within a few days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes, green beans are a good choice for the keto diet. According to the USDA database, 1 cup (100g) of raw chopped beans has 7g of carbohydrate and 3.4g of dietary fiber.
Traditional versions of this side dish have quite a few carbs from the canned mushroom soup and the french fried onion topping. However, this keto green bean casserole recipe has 6.7g of carbs and 1.7g of fiber per serving. That amounts to only 5g net carbs.
Yes, you certainly can. Just follow the recipe and prepare the casserole up to the point of baking it, but leave off the cheese crisps. Cover and refrigerate for up to 2 days. Then bake as directed in Step 5.
More delicious holiday side dishes:
- Creamy Keto Mashed Cauliflower
- The Best Keto Stuffing
- Keto Flatbread with Mushrooms and Sage
- Air Fryer Brussels Sprouts
- Twice Baked Spaghetti Squash
- Roasted Delicata Squash
Keto Green Bean Casserole Recipe
Ingredients
- 1 tbsp avocado oil
- 1 lb (453.59 g) green beans, washed, trimmed, and cut in half
- 2 tbsp butter
- 6 ounces (170.1 g) crimini or button mushrooms, sliced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- ½ cup (120 g) dry white wine, (or chicken broth)
- 1 cup (238 g) heavy whipping cream
- Salt and pepper
- ¾ cup (84 g) shredded cheese, cheddar, mozzarella, etc.
- ½ cup (50 g) Parmesan crisps, crumbled
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 350ºF.
- In a large skillet, heat the avocado oil over medium heat until shimmering. Add the green beans and sauté until bright green, about 4 minutes. Transfer to a bowl.
- Add the butter to the skillet and let melt, then add the mushrooms and cook until browned and they have begun to release their juices, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 1 minute more. Transfer to a medium glass or ceramic baking dish.
- Add the wine to the skillet and let cook until reduced by about two thirds. Stir in the heavy whipping cream and bring to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and simmer until thickened, 4 or 5 minutes.
- Pour the sauce over the green beans and sprinkle with the shredded cheese. Bake 20 minutes. Remove and sprinkle with the crumbled parmesan crisps and bake another 5 minutes.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutritional Disclaimer
Please note that I am not a medical or nutritional professional. I am simply recounting and sharing my own experiences on this blog. Nothing I express here should be taken as medical advice and you should consult with your doctor before starting any diet or exercise program. I provide nutritional information for my recipes simply as a courtesy to my readers. It is calculated using MacGourmet software and I remove erythritol from the final carb count and net carb count, as it does not affect my own blood glucose levels. I do my best to be as accurate as possible but you should independently calculate nutritional information on your own before relying on them. I expressly disclaim any and all liability of any kind with respect to any act or omission wholly or in part in reliance on anything contained in this website.
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This recipe became the new favorite on our Thanksgiving table this year! It’s a delicious replacement for the standard casserole that’s made the rounds for years, and is in desperate need of a long overdue goodbye.
Great to hear!
Made this one along with the stuffing this year – both were a huge hit. But this one – so good!! My kids even agreed that this is much much better than the “traditional” version of canned this and that. So happy to have holiday recipes that actually taste amazing!
I made this last year and will make it again. It’s excellent! Even the non ketos loved it.
Really loved it! The parm crisps were a good substitute for the fried onions
We have been trying to cut out processed foods and was excited to find a green bean casserole recipe that doesn’t use canned soup. I made this for our Easter dinner and it was delicious! The whole family loved it and they didn’t miss the traditional green bean casserole. Thank you for the recipe!
What are cheese crisps? How do I make them?
Please look at the recipe and click the link for them.
I guess I am blind because I don’t see a link for the crisps anywhere.
I love this recipe. I’ve made it a few times. Most recently I used one can of green beans since I didn’t have fresh on hand and it turned out great. Mushrooms and green beans are a great combination and the sauce is basic but flavorful. I do prefer it without the cheese, however.
made for Thanksgiving side. I melted the cheese with the cream sauce. delicious!
Needs a little onion.
I forgot about the star rating.
Great recipe I love the flavor of the sauce !! The green beans took forever to cook, I should have gone with my gut feeling, steam them until they get cooked but just a little crunchy, I used Monterey Jack cheese, shredded my own, I used chicken bone broth great choice, over all yes this is a winner!! Thank you for sharing your recipes!!
This recipe was just okay. The beans were underdone and the wine flavor was too strong. Also, no where in the recipe does it say when to add the salt and pepper. Luckily I remembered on my own and added it to the cream reduction.